


painted dreams

by sureimiku



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: College AU, F/M, Modern AU, Tales of Secret Santa 2019, asch and luke are siblings, asch is an arts major, because painter asch is good, elements of a soulmate au?, i lowkey based this off of the tales fes designs this year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21689530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sureimiku/pseuds/sureimiku
Summary: Asch arrives at a loss of inspiration for his paintings. So what happens when he starts dreaming of a girl in a flower field who he’s never met?
Relationships: Asch the Bloody & Luke fon Fabre, Asch the Bloody/Natalia Kimlasca-Lanvaldear
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	painted dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wickedlupin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedlupin/gifts).



> happy holidays Sabrina!! I was so excited when I found out I had you as my giftee because I love your Asch/Natalia fics so much & I just writing Asch in general ;v; I’ve had this AU idea since April (a friend and I came up with it) and I’ve been wanting to write it for a while. it was so much fun to write and I hope you enjoy it <3

A girl with short blonde hair and a blue dress.   
She stood in a field of flowers, picking one up and offering it to him. The girl had no name, but Asch thought she was one of the most beautiful things in the world. He reached out to take the flower but was interrupted by someone violently shaking his shoulders. And so the girl disappeared from his sight, not leaving a single trace of herself behind. Asch thought his shoulders were being shaken only in the dream, but that wasn’t the case as he opened his eyes to a blur of orange hovering over him. 

“Have you seen my sweater?” Luke asked. “I thought I left it on top of my desk but—“

“You woke me up at 7 in the morning just for your damn _sweater_?” The redhead hissed, covering himself back up with his blanket. “Be responsible for your own stuff.”

Luke shook him again. “Please,” his brother whined, “it’s cold and I left my other one in class. Come on, you couldn’t even find your own socks last week and had to wear mismatched ones to class.” 

His older brother grumpily got up and made it to the mess Luke called his desk, throwing a bunch of things around until he found it at the very bottom. 

“Happy?”

Luke nodded eagerly, throwing it on immediately and rushing out the door. “I left you some coffee on the counter if you want. I’ll see you later!” With the room quiet once again Asch eventually got out of bed and got ready for the day. His class didn’t start until 10AM but he preferred being there early, compared to his brother, who was known for coming to class right before the bell rang. Luke was a sophomore studying social sciences while Asch was a junior studying the arts, more specifically painting. With their schedules so hectic they didn’t see each other until they were both back at their dorm. 

It didn’t take Asch too long to get ready, as he always got his materials ready the night before. He also showered rather fast. Again, compared to his brother, Luke spent an eternity in the bathroom sometimes. 

After throwing on a red sweatshirt and jeans and settling down for breakfast, Asch’s thoughts shifted back to the dream he had. Who was that girl? He didn’t even get a chance to get her name, but she was _beautiful_. Finishing the coffee his brother left him, he silently hoped he’d be able to dream about her again. 

  
The crisp air against his face felt refreshing as he stepped out of his dorm. The University of Kimlasca was one of the grandest schools on Auldrant; with dorms so grand and so many majors to choose from it was definitely a great school to attend. Asch checked his watch, which read 9:30 AM, as he entered the arts building. It was a relatively quiet spot; he appreciated the calmness the building brought him every time he stepped into it. It always gave off the scent of paint, another thing he loved about coming to class every morning.

Classes usually went well for him but today he was lacking some sort of inspiration. In fact, all his recent pieces seemed to lack a certain something he couldn’t place his finger on. His professor even confronted him about it, asking him what was the matter. He honestly could not tell her what was wrong, but he promised he’d get back to his usual form. 

Asch’s thoughts suddenly shifted back to his dream, about the girl he had seen. On an impulse, he began sketching her as he remembered her— short yellow hair, her blue dress, the flowers she had in her hair. 

Finally, after weeks of no inspiration, he had finally found one. 

* * *

“What are you daydreaming about, Natalia?” Tear asked her friend as they sat on a bench outside. The two of them were on lunch break from their classes, seated away from the majority of the students. 

“...Huh?” She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the brunette. “Ah, it’s just...I’ve been having repetitive dreams about this man. I’ve never met him, but he looked so handsome.”

Tear smirked at her, shifting her body to face her completely. “What did he look like?”

“He had crimson hair tied back a ponytail and a black sweatshirt. He was rather quiet too. I didn’t get to see his face, so that was all I remembered...” Natalia checked the time on her phone and started packing her belongings away. “I should be heading back soon. I’ll see you later?”

“Sure.” Tear waved her goodbye and started heading for her class as well. For some reason, the blonde’s words had a sad ring to it. 

* * *

“Who’s that?” Luke asked, peering over the desk to see what his brother had drawn. 

“It’s no one,” Asch seethed, trying to focus on his work. 

“Your friend?”

“No.”

“Your crush?”

“ _No_.”

“Your girlfriend?”

The redhead felt his pencil tip break from anger. “Wh— no Luke, just leave me alone!”

“Fine, fine. You just seemed so concentrated, I wanted to know what happened. You seemed so motivated after a while.” 

The older brother sighed and set his sketchbook to the side. “I’ve had these dreams about a girl lately in a meadow. I don’t know her name or what her face looks like, but I just felt like I had to draw her out.” He held his sketch up to his brother to show him just what he was talking about. “So no, this is not my crush or girlfriend.” 

“Would you want her to be your girlfriend if you ever met in real life?” 

“I...I don’t know.” Asch looked at his sketch again. If only he had seen her face, or even known her name.  


Weeks passed until winter break came, and Asch’s final project for his art class was due. Falling leaves were replaced by drifting snow and the wind gusts were enough to make him shiver. Of course, he used the same inspiration for his piece, but it had less of a presence this time. In fact, he’d started to resort back to his usual style and drawing less and less of the girl from his dreams. It made him a bit sad, but he was glad he was back to his usual self. Eventually, the dreams tampered off and with so much stress due to finals, he’d forgotten why he drew her in the first place. 

Asch’s final grade was an A as expected. Surely his mother would be proud of him, so he made a mental note to text her about it later. For now, he just wanted to get back to his room and sleep. He began his way towards the dorm but a hint of sadness pinged him. His inspiration only lasted him a few months and now he was done for weeks. He doubted he would dream about her anymore so all he had to turn to were the old sketches he kept. 

His invading thoughts were disturbed by someone bumping into him; Asch realized he wasn’t even looking where he was walking, causing the person to drop all their belongings. 

Immediately, he bent down to retrieve their fallen books. “I’m so sor—“

Asch froze when he saw the girl in front of him. Olive colored eyes looked into his deeper colored ones, her slightly flushed cheeks framed by short golden hair. She was wearing a flower barrette on the right side of her hair. He nearly dropped the book he was holding when he realized who it was. 

“Ah—!”

Her eyes froze as well, nearly falling to the floor at the sight of who was in front of her. She couldn’t find the right words nor could he. “I—“

“I saw you in my dream.” He finished the sentence for her and her lips curved into a smile. “I saw you too,” she replied and watched as Asch’s lips curved too. He clumsily reached in his bag to retrieve one of his old sketches. Handing it to her, she smiled even more, her eyes lighting up. “Yulia, I never thought I would meet you...what’s your name?”

“Natalia. Natalia Lanvaldear,” she spoke, taking the hand he offered to help her up. The man introduced himself as Asch fon Fabre, older brother to Luke fon Fabre, majoring in the arts department. And in return, Natalia revealed she was a junior majoring in criminal justice. 

The same year as me… Asch thought as he took a moment to rewind everything that happened to him in the past ten minutes. Meeting the girl in his dreams, finding out she dreamt about him as well, and that she went to the same university as him...it was almost as if they were meant to be. 

“...Classes just finished for you too, right?” Asch blurted after a long period of silence. “Do you want to, uh...hang out over break? My brother won’t be here, he’s going back home for the entire time.”

“I would love to.” And so they planned to see each other tomorrow, as they needed some time to take everything in. 

  
When he got back to his room, Asch threw himself on his bed and buried his face in his hands. Thank Yulia his brother wasn’t there, he would definitely poke fun at him for the rest of the evening.

Natalia was gorgeous. He thought his image of her in his dreams was already beautiful, but seeing her face and learning her name made his heart nearly swell. Natalia, on the other hand, was the same when she returned to her room. Asch was as handsome as he’d been in her dreams, and thinking about taking his hand made her cheeks flush even pinker. Thankfully it was cold outside so her cheeks could disguise the blush she reserved for him. She could hardly wait for tomorrow. 

It turned out the next day was not what she was expecting at all. Not that it was bad, but it was surely something she would keep a mental note of. They exchanged numbers the day before and Asch told her she could come over to spend the day in his dorm; the last message he texted her was the floor and room number he lived in. _And that he left his door open._

Natalia made her way to the large stone building, taking a moment to admire how huge it was; she lived nearby so she’d never actually been in one. Despite this, she found Asch’s room rather easily, which was on the first floor. 

She knocked once but there was no response. Twice, and no response again. Finally, she decided to open the door to see if anyone was inside. 

“Hello?“

_“I’m too hot, hot damn, called the police and the fireman—”_

Was that him singing in the shower? Natalia tried so hard to not laugh but froze when the bathroom door opened. 

_“Say my name you know who I a—“_

When Asch opened the door and saw the blonde standing there, he stared at her and slowly backed his way into the bathroom without saying another word. Natalia couldn’t hold her laugh in anymore so she let it all out. He appeared so quiet and cold at first, she never expected to hear him sing in the shower. Asch was so lucky the door was closed because nothing could hide his bright red blushing that nearly matched his hair color. When he opened the door, he was wearing a white shirt, sweatpants, with his hair tied back in a ponytail. His face remained fixed to the ground. “How much did you hear?”

“Only a little bit.” She hummed the lines he heard him singing and Asch just hid his face in his hands. “I should’ve texted you I was going to be in the shower. This is so embarrassing...” 

Natalia giggled at that. “I won’t tell anyone. Promise. Not even Luke.” Asch finally smiled after that last sentence, because if Luke ever found out about him singing he would be taunted for months. 

The two of them spent most of the day learning about each other and retelling their dreams starting from day one. The piling snow outside was oddly comforting and led to Asch making them hot chocolate. They talked so much that they didn’t realize the clock already read 8PM. “I should get going.” Natalia head towards the door and slipped on her boots. “I had fun today, Asch. I’ll see you around.” She closed the door and left him staring at the ceiling. He hadn’t realized how much he was looking at her the entire day. He had already told her she was beautiful but Lorelei, she was so much more than that. He especially noted how her eyes lit up when telling a story, how sweet her laugh sounded when he told her one of his embarrassing stories, how her eyes lost their way into his own. His chest was burning, his heart was pounding just thinking about her. 

He definitely had feelings for her. 

  
The rest of the break went by rather quickly, but Asch mainly spent it with Natalia. They hung out whenever they could, watched movies together, and even spent Asch’s birthday together. He wasn’t a big party person so he just invited her and a few other friends over. It was a night full of laughter and chatter, the best kind of get-together he could ever have. Luke also got to finally meet Natalia, who was happy to learn there was someone else that secretly loved teasing his older brother. In fact, the day of his older brother’s birthday he asked him:

“You love Natalia, don’t you?”

“W-where did you get that from?” Asch sputtered, trying to find the right words. “I just like spending time with her! That’s all!”

“Everyone noticed it. The way your eyes light up when she says something funny, the smile you wear from being around her, how much you look at her with those loving eyes...you don’t have to hide it.” 

He felt his cheeks burning. He was so bad at hiding his feelings that his own brother had noticed? 

“Is that what feeling in love feels like, then?” Asch had no feelings for anyone before meeting Natalia, but his brother had the experience. He remembered his younger brother sulking his freshman year over a cute girl he’d met, but never dared to admit his feelings to her. 

“Yeah. If you love being with her so much, you should tell her. I know I don’t have the guts to ever do that. And besides, I think she feels the same way about you.” 

It was true, he treasured his friendship with her...but he definitely wouldn’t mind if were closer. “Maybe I will, then.” Asch rose up from his bed and head for the shower. As Luke watched him disappear from his sight, he gazed out the window of falling snow. 

_Damn, I never thought I’d have to deal with my older brother falling in love._

  
For New Year's, Natalia asked if Asch wanted to come over by her house for a party. He really didn’t like parties but he didn’t mind if she was there. Her house wasn’t too far from the university, and there was a park nearby to watch fireworks. Luke was also invited, but he declined because he already had plans (but in reality, he just wanted his brother's night to go well).

They ordered pizza because Asch learned that Natalia was not to be trusted with cooking. He heard this from one of her friends, whose face was in distress as she described what she had made the other day. 

“The other day, she baked a cake but she mistook the sugar for salt and oil for vinegar—“ 

“You didn't have to bring that up, Tear!” Natalia protested, her cheeks flaring. “It’s not my fault they’re the same color, now no one will ever trust me when I’m cooking!” 

“Wait. You’re telling me you put salt instead of sugar,” Asch asked while trying not to laugh. 

“I put a _whole_ cup.” 

Tear told him all the other chaotic stories that involved Natalia and cooking and with each one he laughed harder and harder. He forgot the last time he’d had this much fun with other people, his first two years in university he was closed off and rarely hung out with other people. 

But now, he thought, he could get used to hanging out with these people. 

After pizza and another round of cursed stories, fireworks started being fired outside and Natalia declared that they should go watch the sky light up. They watched from the nearby park that gave an open view of the sky, a perfect seat for the show. 

Asch checked the time on his phone. A few more hours until the new year began. Today he had to tell her, so if she rejected they could start over during the New Year. Rejection wasn’t even something he considered, but this was the first time he ever asked someone out so he would understand completely.

“Natalia?”

“What is it?” She looked at him with the same soft smile she’d always worn. Asch hadn't even told her yet and his cheeks were starting to burn. 

“There’s...something I need to tell you. Is there somewhere we can go in private?”

She pointed to a hill not too far away. “Is there okay?”

He nodded and led the way towards their destination. With each step, he felt his heart beating faster, to the point he could’ve sworn it was loud enough to hear. The hill was elevated from everyone else and covered completely in snow, with a view even grander than below. 

“What did you want to tell me?”

“I, uh…”

Not even the drifting snowflakes could hide his mad blush. 

“I’m in love with you.”

Natalia’s eyes widened in surprise, a light blush painting her cheeks. She lost the ability to speak for a few moments so Asch took her hands into her own. “I understand if you don’t want to accept my feelings, I’m...not exactly experienced when it comes to love, but regardless I hope we can continue to be friends—“

Words weren’t needed as she threw her arms around him, burying herself in that long red hair she always loved. In return, Asch wrapped his arms around her and waited for her to finally respond. “I love you too,” she breathed, and she could feel all the tension release out of the man. “Ever since I dreamt about you, you’ve never escaped my thoughts, you know.”

Asch pulled back a little to show the grin he was wearing, how happy and relieved he was that she loved him too. Without a second thought, he slightly angled her face and closed the gap between them. He gently pressed his lips against hers, shifting his hands to cup her face. Natalia followed, moving her hands to his waist and closing her eyes. She moved into the touch of his rough hands, hugging him a little bit tighter. It was clumsy for their first kiss but it couldn’t be helped, her lips were so gentle to keep him from leaving. 

"So...we're dating now?"

His new girlfriend nodded, leaning in for another kiss. 

There were many dreams that Asch wished would come true, and perhaps this one was the best of all. 


End file.
